Eric Ott

TriDot Ambassador

Race Distances

Sprint, Olympic, Half

Performance Level

Intermediate

I remember back in the early 80’s my dad calling me over to the TV to explain what the crazy people were doing on the Wide World of Sports. My dad was an avid runner and he was commenting on how these people were swimming 2.4 miles, then getting on a bike and riding 112 miles and then, THEN running a marathon! I knew how hard he was training for a marathon, so we were both thinking that these people were nuts! Little did I know that was one of the first televised Ironman competitions and where it would all lead.

Fast forward 30 years to 2013 and I was by now a father of 3 and step father to 1. I remember seeing a picture of myself sitting on a boat in my swimsuit and realizing I was tremendously out of shape, needed to lose weight, and I knew if I didn’t do something about my health it was going to deteriorate. For Christmas that year I asked for something to workout with and some sort of workout program. What I got was a kettlebell and the basic workout video that came with it. So that was my 2014 New Years resolution. Now I can only apologize to the poor trainer on that video for all the names I called her, but I can honestly say she changed my life. After doing that video for a little while and once it got a bit tedious, I decided to invest in a treadmill for my family. Knowing I needed a goal to shoot for, it was about this same time that, while poking around on the interweb I rediscovered the sport of triathlon. No longer was it strictly a super long distance but they had come up with this amazing category called “Sprint” triathlon, and they even had race division called “Clydesdale” just for me! So I figured I could swim, I could ride a bike, and I could propel myself on two feet so this was doable! That was my goal for 2014, to finish a Sprint Triathlon! Needless to say, I accomplished that goal. No, this isn’t a story of the guy who made the podium the first time out, I simply finished. Now a “veteran” of 10 Sprint triathlons, one Olympic distance and two Half Ironman races I still look at that first finisher medal and smile!

I joined TriDot in early 2018 after taking the 2017 season off for family reasons. I knew I wanted to get back into the sport and had my sights set on finishing a half. With that goal in mind, I knew I needed a plan that was customized to me. Being a data geek by nature, the analytic aspects of TriDot was very attractive to me and having customized workouts based on my specific race schedule was awesome! TriDot certainly delivered for me in 2018 allowing me to not only step up to my first Olympic distance but to finish my first half marathon and both Ironman Muncie and Ironman Steelhead. I am very proud to be a TriDot Ambassador and look forward to having TriDot help me improve my Olympic distance times and maybe, just maybe, get that first, ever elusive, podium.